White, Little lift Thrashers past Panthers

SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- A newcomer and a top prospect
provided a spark for the Atlanta Thrashers.

Todd White and Bryan Little scored power-play goals 43 seconds
apart in the third period, leading the Thrashers to a 4-1
preseason triumph over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday.

Penalties caught up with the Panthers in a decisive way in the
third period when, following a double-minor to defenseman
Branislav Mezei for high-sticking at 1:52, White and Little beat
goaltender Tomas Vokoun from close range to give the Thrashers
a 3-1 advantage.

A two-time 20-goal scorer, White was signed as a free agent over
the summer after two seasons with Minnesota. Little was
Atlanta's first-round pick - 12th overall - in the 2006 draft.

Less than four minutes later, the 19-year-old Little fired a
soft shot to the left of Vokoun, who appeared off-balance on the
play and, for the first time, heard boos from the sparce crowd
at the BankAtlantic Center.

The Southeast Division rivals quickly reintroduced themselves as
Florida's Anthony Stewart and Atlanta's Boris Valabik dropped
the gloves just seconds into the game. Valabik took exception
to being boarded by Stewart behind the Thrashers' net and the
two tangled, providing the only real excitement of a scoreless
first period.

After coming up empty on their previous four power-play
opportunities in the second, the Thrashers finally managed to
get the puck past Vokoun on their fifth chance. With two
seconds left on a hooking penalty to Florida defenseman Ruslan
Salei, Brett Sterling beat Vokoun to the stick side at 17:06 for
a 1-0 lead.

But the Panthers got the equalizer with just 12 seconds left in
the session, when Brett McLean took a feed from Gregory Campbell
and put a backhander past netminder Kari Lehtonen.

The fans let their feelings be known about both the Panthers'
effort in their own end and the play of Vokoun down the stretch.
Acquired over the summer in a trade with Nashville, Vokoun
looked nothing like the goalie who turned back some point-blank
shots during a second period that saw Atlanta dominate in the
offensive zone but wind up stymied before Sterling's tally.

The Panthers were the ones applying the pressure early in the
first period, with McLean and Kamil Kreps getting some good
scoring chances against Lehtonen. The Thrashers countered with
a late-period surge during their only power-play chance of the
session, but Vokoun came up big on several one-timers.